I am a behaviouralist with an interest in higher cognitive processing in invertebrates. I am interested in mechanisms of neural plasticity that are conserved across taxonomically diverse species, and how different selective pressures may have driven the evolution of these mechanisms in distantly related species.

Nociception and Sensitisation

In my current research I use neurophysiological and behavioural techniques to examine nociception (detecting noxious or unpleasant stimuli) and nociceptive sensitisation in invertebrates. Sensitisation resulting from tissue injury or from noxious stimuli can be expressed both as changes to the neurons that detect these stimuli, and as a change to the animal’s behaviour. By studying both nociceptors and the behaviours they influence, we can seek to understand how sensitisation might function to provide a fitness benefit for affected animals.

Injury is a common yet costly experience for any animal - injured animals are targeted by predators, and must invest time and energy in wound healing that might otherwise be spent on foraging or finding mates. Thus injured animals must overcome substantial fitness costs, which might be offset at least partially by changing their behaviour while their injuries heal. Sensitisation after injury is a potentially important mechanism driving these changes. Recently we have begun to investigate nociception in squid, focusing on the adaptive value of sensitised defensive behaviours. Other studies investigate the neural mechanisms of nociceptive plasticity in another mollusc, the gastropod Aplysia.

For a list of publications, go here